Students Hooked On Painstaking Rug-making Craft

PEOPLE

They need it. Their work is exacting and sometimes tedious but always challenging. No matter that it takes months for them to complete a project.

``We`re hooked,`` Selma Lindenman said.

Lindenman is a student of Colonial rug hooking.

Every Friday, she and up to a dozen women, most of retirement age, gather in Salma Dhanji`s living room to, well, hook. As the instructor, Dhanji provides information on dying and wool stripping techniques, color planning and pattern selection.

In the eight years since she led her first Colonial hooking class, Dhanji has become an expert in the craft. Her Sunrise home is decorated with intricate rugs, custom-designed pieces that are admired by her students.

Her latest is a large wall hanging depicting the various stages of life. It is embellished with intricate flora and fauna designs and sayings from the Koran, the holy book of the Islamic religion.

Dhanji is a native of Bombay whose daily dress still is the sari. She immigrated with her sons and her husband, an electronics engineer, and became an American citizen nine years ago. Most of her students are surprised that she learned her craft at a Pittsburgh YWCA.

Dhanji even impressed President Reagan two years ago with the acme of her efforts: a large circular rug that was a perfect copy, down to its 873,000th stitch, of the Presidential seal.

``The president was surprised to learn the rug hooking is not an Eastern but an American craft,`` Dhanji said. ``Oriental rugs are very different, either knotted by hand or woven on looms. Hooked rugs are hooked onto burlap in very tightly packed loops.``

Each student`s rug starts as pieces of burlap imprinted with the desired pattern. Wool that is pre-dyed by Dhanji in her kitchen is sliced into long strips that are 1/32nd of an inch wide. With a tapestry hook, a section of the strip is pulled through the burlap, leaving a closed loop on the finished side.

Although the method could be compared to painting-by-numbers, the colors are not indicated on the burlap canvas, requiring planning and careful attention. Dhanji`s description is more apt. ``Hooking is like painting with wool,`` she said.

Despite the tedious process, Dhanji`s students adore the craft. Lindenman of Coconut Creek says, ``My husband wants me to come to bed but I can`t put the rug down until I finish a certain section.``

For Hilda David, who lives in the Palm-Aire complex in Pompano Beach, hooking is like playing golf. ``You play golf and you just don`t think about anything else but walking toward the ball,`` she said. ``It`s like meditation. I`ve tried many crafts, but I think I`ll stick with this one. It`s so satisfying.``

EXHIBITS, CLASSES PLANNED

Salma Dhanji`s students will exhibit their Colonial hooked rugs at several Broward County locations this month. There also will be ongoing demonstrations of the craft.

The show is held in conjunction with the American Traditional Hook Artists: Broward Guild.

-- The first exhibit is scheduled from Jan. 20 through Jan. 22 at the Pompano Beach Recreation Center, 1801 NE Sixth. St., Pompano Beach. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Dhanji also will be offering another six-week set of rug hooking classes beginning in February.

She will teach a Tuesday and a Friday class in her Sunrise home from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., beginning next month. And starting Feb. 2, she will have a 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. class on Mondays in the Holiday Park Social Center, 1095 Holiday Park Circle, Fort Lauderdale.

Materials can be purchased from the instructor. For more information on fees, call 748-7180.